Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience
Words of Faith 9-7-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 1
[15] The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, [16] "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." [17] The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. [18] Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"
[19] The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
[20] So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. [21] And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
[22] Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

Who would have thought that a couple of Hebrew midwives would get their names in the Torah? But they did. Shiphrah and Puah were among the first in the Bible to defy an unjust decree because they feared God more than they feared man. Today we call this an act of civil disobedience.
These two Hebrew women dared to do the right thing even when it was against the law. Sometimes God calls us to disobey the civil law so we may obey Him.
Civil disobedience is always a bit controversial. In most matters of law, we are to trust that God has allowed the authority of the government over us. Paul teaches that "everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God" (Romans 13:1). Taxes should be paid and laws obeyed.
Yet the Word also gives examples in which the faithful have been called to defy man's decrees. Daniel refused to obey the decree of the king forbidding the worship of God and was put into the lions' den. Rahab concealed spies that led to the victory of Joshua over her city. When obedience to man's law would mean disobedience to God, the believer must trust that God will carry him through even the consequences that may come.
A college student was arrested a few years ago for concealing box cutters on an airliner. His action pointed out the flaws in airport security, and he called this "civil disobedience." But it is difficult to see how this act was scriptural or served "conscience" in any way. Scriptural civil disobedience is not a matter of dreaming up actions that breach the law. There is no Scriptural exhortation to carry knives in travel.
There is a long line of God's servants who have disobeyed the government over them because God called them to a higher standard. Such decisions are not easy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer returned to Europe from the U.S. to lead the Christian resistance in Germany and help Jews escape to Switzerland. Corrie ten Boom and her family concealed persecuted Jews, saving more than 800 before being betrayed and arrested.
Civil disobedience is always costly. Daniel was willing to go to the lions. Rahab might have been killed. Dietrich was hanged at Flossenburg just days before the liberation. Corey lost much of her family in the Camps.
Shiphrah and Puah call us to contemplate our response to the contradictions between civil law and the Law of God. Every day the law of the land is less and less in sync with the Law of the Lord. One can no longer look to our civil law for clear guidance. Beyond legislative efforts to change the law, how do we respond?
For the most part, our civil law does not demand that a citizen break the law of God, but this can certainly be the case. The question is this: Will we have the courage of Shiphrah and Puah? Will we have the courage of Daniel or Rahab? Will we have the courage of Dietrich or Corrie?

Lord God, I reverence You above all things created. I fear You above the laws and judgments of man. I choose to honor You and Your Word above the opinions or retribution of man. Give me the courage to follow You no matter what. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.